Blumenthal starts blog; will discuss workforce grants

Dr. David Blumenthal, the national coordinator for health IT, will unveil details Tuesday about new grants his office will make available to help strengthen the health IT workforce, the Health and Human Services Department said today.

HHS also announced the launch of a blog through which consumers, providers, policymakers and technology experts can share ideas and concerns about health information technology with Blumenthal and his team.

The blog – dubbed the Health IT Buzz -- is up and available here. In his maiden post, Blumenthal noted that in addition to give the public a chance to air its views, he will use the blog as a listening device.

“Listening is critical because there is no predicting when the most intriguing thoughts and advice will pop to the surface,” Blumenthal wrote.

“It could be in a hallway conversation, in testimony before an advisory committee, or in an email.  It could also be on a blog.  This is why we are launching the Health IT Buzz blog today.”

Comments about building a workforce that understands  health IT and its importance will no doubt be a part the conversation. HHS said Blumenthal will announce details Nov. 23 about funding one of the cornerstones of that effort: a set of regional health IT training centers to help providers integrate health IT into their business and clinical practices.

Last week, deputy national coordinator Dr. Charles Friedman also discussed building up the health IT workforce in remarks before the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics.

ONC has been developing a strategy for building up such a workforce according to roles and competencies identified at an ONC-sponsored technical workshop in August, he said.

The August workshop focused “on those roles that might take six months or fewer of training for a health IT worker to be capable of being helpful in the field,” Friedman said. 

An ONC draft document details roles for which six months of training might be adequate as well as a preliminary set of competencies for each role. The roles identified by the ONC  include clinician consultant, implementation manager, practice workflow and information management redesign specialist, along with technical support and trainers.